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EHMKE MANUFACTURING COMPANY @ Above: Howard Jonathan Ehmke. Top: Howard Ehmke, lower left, founded Howard Ehmke Manufacturing Company following a record-setting win in Game 1 of the 1929 World Series. The first product manufactured was a tarp for Philadelphia’s Shibe Park. Right: Left to right, Ehmke Manufacturing Company Chief Executive Officer Robert L. “Bob” Rosania and Chief Operating Officer S. Clifford Stokes have ensured the future of the diversified textile company through their commitment and innovation. Opposite, top: In 2015, Ehmke Manufacturing Company employed more than 140 men and women, with sales exceeding $12 million. Opposite, middle: Ehmke Manufacturing Company has been awarded some of the government’s largest contracts to manufacture products for the military such as High Ground Tactical Gear Items. Opposite, bottom: The insulation blankets inside of a CH-46 U.S. Department of State Helicopter. In 1929, Howard Jonathan Ehmke won Game 1 of the World Series for the Philadelphia Athletics over the Chicago Cubs with thirteen strikeouts—a record that lasted twenty-five years. That same year, he founded Howard Ehmke Manufacturing Company to manufacture athletic field covers for athletic stadiums. Ehmke, born and raised in Silver Creek, New York, had arrived in Philadelphia to play for legendary manager Connie Mack of the Philadelphia Athletics. And, immediately following that historic Game 1, he decided to make Philadelphia his home. Known for its highly-skilled textile workers and fabric industry, it was the perfect location to begin production of covers to protect athletic fields. From his experience on the mound, Ehmke knew the deteriorating conditions rain had on the infield. During inclement weather most fields were left uncovered, while smaller tarps pieced together loosely covered others. He began developing a process to create oversized, one-piece covers. The result came in the form of a trench— a thirty-six inch trench the width of the building in the floor of the warehouse. In the bottom of the trench Ehmke placed a single, railroad rail and mounted a sewing machine with a fitted wheel to it. The sewing machine, mounted even with the floor, would be ridden along the track to bind the edges of the fabric. This allowed the huge textiles to be sewn without having to pull the cumbersome fabric up onto a sewing machine table. The company’s first infield tarp was manufactured for Shibe Park in north Philadelphia at Twenty-First Street and Lehigh Avenue, located directly across the street from the Howard Ehmke Manufacturing Company. Later renamed Connie Mack Stadium, during its existence from 1909 to 1970 the park was home to the Philadelphia Athletics, Philadelphia Phillies, and the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles. Visiting teams took notice of the infield coverings and business grew. By the 1940s, Howard Ehmke Manufacturing Company athletic coverings were being used in college and professional baseball and football stadiums throughout the United States. In addition, the company had ventured into producing canopies and awnings. During the Great Depression, while other companies were folding, Ehmke persevered by staying true to his core business and not employing more than a few people. Following a brief illness, Ehmke died in early 1959. Within a month, the company was sold to Louis S. Verna and Walter E. Rowe. Verna and Rowe were forced to reduce the workforce and decreased their own salaries to free up capital. New industries were added to the customer base and the 1960s welcomed updated equipment and a larger plant at Wister and Barfield Avenues. The company was incorporated as Ehmke Manufacturing Company, Inc. The awning and canopy share of the business
had expanded from smaller pieces for railway cars and walkways to oversize canopies and awnings for horse racing tracks, hotels, country clubs, and retail stores. Verna’s son, Louis F. Verna, became the third shareholder, joining the company soon after graduation from Philadelphia College of Textiles, known today as Philadelphia University. By 1972, Ehmke had celebrated its first year with sales exceeding $1 million. The following decade, Rowe earned Ehmke its first government contract when the U.S.P.S. began using his clamp design to replace the unreliable rope-and-hem system to securely close mail bags. In 1989, Rowe officially retired from the company and the elder Verna realized it was time to let his son assume the presidency. With his son, they began looking for new business partners to purchase the elder Verna’s shares and breathe new life into the company. They found the perfect fit in Cliff Stokes and Bob Rosania. Stokes and Rosania had known each other since their days at Penn Charter and had remained close friends. Stokes joined Ehmke right out of college. The chance to work for a smaller company and the opportunity of stock ownership interested him. That opportunity was realized in 1990 when the elder Verna sold his interest in Ehmke. Two years later, Rosania joined Ehmke and the leadership of the company was secure. The strong partnership resulted in the perfect formula for success. Under the leadership of Stokes and Rosania, the company grew exponentially, commencing with Ehmke’s first large U.S. Military contract—producing 55,000 medical kit cases for the U.S. Army. A contract with Boeing resulted in the manufacturing of thermal acoustic blankets and nose covers for the Chinook and other helicopters used by the military. Verna retired in 2001, selling his interests to Stokes and Rosania. Since that time, Ehmke’s growth within the industry has been remarkable and today is recognized as one of the industry’s most innovative companies. Ehmke is a diverse, cutting-edge company implementing LEAN Manufacturing processes producing world class quality products for its customers. The company and its leadership remain rooted in the dream and commitment of its founder.
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